


you be the art, I'll be the brush

by t_hens



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Meet-Cute, art student phil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 18:04:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19381942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_hens/pseuds/t_hens
Summary: Phil is a harried art student just trying to do his best and he may have just a little bit of a crush on his sketching class' new model Dan





	you be the art, I'll be the brush

**Author's Note:**

> this is based off of Laura's 'Draw This In Your Style' [art student! Phil](https://laurainlilac.tumblr.com/post/184718565518/draw-this-in-your-style-challenge), who I just fell in love with and needed an au of
> 
> thank you so much to [Moody](https://obsessivelymoody.tumblr.com/) [Callie](https://huphilpuffs.tumblr.com/) and [Rachel](http://fourthingsandawizard.tumblr.com) for all their help on this! you guys are the best <3

Phil’s alarm blaring is what woke him out of what had been a decent sleep and pleasant dream. He lifted his head and felt a piece of sketch paper sticking to his cheek. He pawed at it, huffing his annoyance when it stayed. Forgetting about it for a second, he rifled around on his desk to find his phone to shut off the irritating sound.

Why did he always set his alarms so late, making him have to scramble to get ready every time? He scurried around his dorm to find a clean(ish) pair of pants, though everything he owned had at least some sort of stain on them, whether it be paint, coffee, or ink. 

Fashion was really the last thing that he cared about, though, so he pulled on the same jeans he wore yesterday and a button-up. His hair was always a mess, so he didn’t bother doing more than run a hand through it before shoving his glasses on his face and shuffling out the door as quickly as he could without running.

-

As he walked into sketching class to see the easels lined up around the room, he wanted to smack himself in the face. _Of course_ he had chosen today to look like a mess. Sighing, he found his easel and sat down his sketchbook and pencil case. Any other day he wouldn’t have been nervous about class, but today was their modeling class, and Phil was painfully aware of the model they were using. 

As if his thoughts were written on his face, the model came into the room. 

Dan.

Phil didn’t actually know him, only from seeing him around campus and that one Astronomy class they had last semester where Phil spent the whole class doodling in his sketch-book and Dan only spoke maybe four times.

He waited until everyone was at their stations before starting to remove his jacket and t-shirt. Today’s class wasn’t nude modeling, thank god. It was only partial nudity to, as their teacher had put it, 'ease' them into it.’

-

It was hard to not look at someone while drawing them, but Phil did his very best. Every time his eyes lifted to look at Dan, he seemed to be looking at Phil. The gaze made him blush, and it lasted the whole class. By the end, his drawing was only partially finished – an outline if anything – and he knew that his teacher wouldn’t be pleased, but if he looked any longer, he’d probably burst into flames.

The teacher dismissed them and Phil gathered his things quickly. Though he didn’t actually think that Dan would approach him, he just wasn’t prepared for the interaction today. 

The universe didn’t seem to care about whether he was prepared or not, though, because as Phil was shoving his last item into his bag, he saw a figure approaching him. He lifted his eyes and saw Dan standing in front of him, dressed again.

“You’re Phil, right?” 

Phil felt like a deer in headlights. Words weren’t coming to him, so he simply nodded and tried to make his face contort into some sort of smile.

“I remember you from Astronomy class. You were always drawing stuff.”

If he thought his face couldn’t get any redder, he was sorely mistaken. His face felt like it was on fire, but he simply tried to look friendly.

“Yeah, I thought it would be cool, but it was mostly just talking about the different gases the planets were made up of, so I couldn’t really make myself focus,” Phil said quietly. 

Dan gave a small smile and dimples appeared in both cheeks. “It was pretty bad. It was also a lot more maths than I expected.”

Phil laughed; loud and properly. He was a little embarrassed at first, but Dan just laughed along.

After their laughter subsided, they stood there for a second, silence replacing the sound of their laughter.

“Okay, well, I gotta go, I have to go to my French class,” Phil said timidly. He wanted to stay and see if the conversation could go anywhere, but he also couldn’t be late again. His teacher would probably murder him.

“Oh, okay. Well, au revoir!” Dan gave a small wave.

Phil giggled a bit and waved as he started to leave.‘God he’s cute,’ Phil thought, disappointed that he had other courses that didn’t include the one person he wanted to talk to.

-

Dan was back the next day in class. He stopped at Phil’s easel before sitting in the middle and taking off more clothes than the day before. They didn’t talk about much, just mostly said hi and made polite conversation. Phil’s cheeks were a bright pink the entire time, and even as Dan left to undress, Phil’s eyes were trained on him.

It was a little bit easier for him to concentrate, but not by much. Phil was trying desperately to not focus too much on the way Dan’s eyes were such a rich chocolate brown and the way the curls weren’t quite ringlets but little waves. He wasn’t supposed to move, but every once in a while, Dan would smile at Phil and his dimples would pop, making it a little harder to not break out in giggles in the middle of class.

-

Once class was finished for the day, Dan got dressed and made his way to where Phil was again.

“Comment était la classe de français?”

Phil stared for a few seconds before it dawned on him that Dan was speaking French, but not any French that Phil knew. He broke out in frantic giggles and shook his head. “I know that was a question in French, but I have no idea what you asked. I’m terrible at French and never pay attention in class.”

Dan laughed a little, his own cheeks a little pink. “I was asking how French class was going, but I guess that answers my question.”

“Yeah, sorry. I kind of spend my time drawing more than anything.”

“Like in Astronomy?” Dan prompted.

Phil gave a sheepish grin and nodded. It seemed weird that there were things that Dan knew about him, even though this was only maybe their third time talking. It was a good weird, though.

“Do you have French again today?”

Phil didn’t want to think that Dan looked hopeful for a certain answer, but when Phil answered that he didn’t, his face broke out into a wide grin.

“Wouldyoumaybeliketogetcoffee?”

The words flew by so fast, it took a solid ten seconds for Phil to process what Dan said, but once he did, he was agreeing eagerly.

-

Dan had led them to the university's dingy coffee shop that wasn’t exactly great, but it was cheap and they sold caffeine, so Phil didn’t mind it much. They approached the counter and ordered, and Dan pulled out his wallet, much to Phil’s protests.

“You don’t have to pay for me!” He waved his hands and started to dig through his bag for his wallet or the couple of crumpled up notes he knew were somewhere near the bottom, but Dan placed a gentle hand on his forearm and shook his head gently.

“You can pay next time?”

The words sent a warm flush through his body and Phil smiled and said ‘okay’ quietly.

They sat together on the worn down sofa in the corner near the window. They sat a little closer than they strictly needed to, but Dan didn’t seem to mind and Phil couldn’t deny how much he enjoyed the warm press of Dan’s thigh against his own.

“Have you always been an artist?” Dan asked, taking a ginger sip of his hot tea.

Phil shrugged, nearly spilling his coffee. “Kinda. I was always a doodler, though back when I was young, it was mostly pictures of my parents and brother. Did draw them without hands most of the time, though.”

There was a sputtering noise and he glanced over to see some of Dan’s tea dribbling down his chin. Somehow it just made him cuter.

“Sorry,” he said, mopping up the mess with a napkin. “I’m not, like, taking the piss or anything.”

Phil knocked his shoulder gently into Dan’s and gave him a warm smile. “‘S okay. I know I was a weird kid. I went through a phase where I was convinced that hot dogs were made of real dogs. I cried when a family friend brought their dog over for dinner cause I thought they were gonna eat her.”

“That’s so sweet.” Dan didn’t say it like he was being patronizing, or taking the piss. He said it like he really thought little Phil was sweet, and that made a deep pink bloom on Phil’s cheeks and a grin pull at his mouth.

“What about you, then? Did you think any weird things when you were young?”

-

They stayed like that for almost an hour; just sitting too close on a crappy sofa and trading stories back and forth until the bored looking barista came over and told them they had to make another purchase or leave.

Phil glanced at his phone and realized how late it was, and he couldn’t help thinking of the three half finished sketches and French homework he had to do, groaning a little.

“I guess I should go. I have tons of homework,” Phil said apologetically. The last thing he wanted to do was leave.

Dan looked at the time and his face became a little pinched. “I suppose you’re right. My maths isn’t gonna do itself.”

They gathered their things and headed towards the door, falling in step together back to the dorms.

“I had a really good time. Thank you for the coffee.” 

Dan’s smile was huge on his face and Phil couldn’t help focusing on the tiny rosey patch that had sprung up on his jaw. Phil thought distantly about pressing a kiss there, but thought better of it. Best to not be creepy.

“I’m glad you came. Didn’t want you to think I was a weirdo or something.”

“No more weird than I am,” Phil joked, nudging his shoulder again. He was surprised by how quickly he’d become obsessed with wanting to touch and be close to Dan.

-

When they arrived at the dorms, Phil had to go right to his room and Dan’s was to the left, so they both stood in the hallway awkwardly for a few seconds before Dan surged forwards and pressed a kiss to Phil’s cheek.

“I hope that was okay.” Dan was so close that Phil could count the freckles across his cheekbones if he really saw fit, but he just gave a slow nod and pressed his fingers into Dan’s arm.

“It was more than okay.”

There seemed to be tension building between them, and the moment looked promising before the door banged open and a group of rowdy people emerged from outside.

The two broke apart and gave each other shy smiles before parting ways. There was a lump of something in Phil’s throat that was part nerves and excitement and sorrow at the loss of what could have been an important moment.

-

There was a new person sitting in the midst of the easels when Phil came into class on Friday. He looked like Dan in the sense that their hair was both made of soft-looking brown waves and they were both tall and a bit lanky, but that was where the similarities ended. The new person had dull blue eyes and no dimples, and Phil was _upset_. 

Phil didn’t have Dan’s phone number, so he couldn’t text him and see what was going on. All he could do was set his things down at the station and work on sketching this new person who didn’t have a rosy patch or warm brown eyes.

If the sketch at the end of the day looked a lot more like Dan than the stranger, well then, Phil was fine with that.

-

Dan was standing in the hallway when Phil and his fellow students exited their drawing class. He was leaned against the opposite wall and looking as gorgeous as ever. His jeans were just as tight as Phil remembered, and the black of his t-shirt made him really pop against the white wall behind him.

He approached Phil as soon as the crowd had moved away enough for them to have a tiny bit of privacy, or at least as much as they could get in the middle of the day at a university.

“You weren’t there today…” Phil trailed sadly. He was pouting a bit and no, it wasn’t really mature, but he felt a bit confused and sad that he wasn’t going to get to spend three out of five days with his new favorite person any longer.

“I know. I don’t have your number, so I couldn’t text you, but I figured it was for the best.”

Phil was taken aback by this and nodded his head lightly. “I understand.”

He moved to walk away, but then felt Dan’s warm (huge) palm on his forearm. Phil looked at his hand and then back to Dan, waiting for him to elaborate.

“I just -,” he started and then shook his head. “Sorry, I know it’s a bit stupid, but I thought maybe this thing –,” he used the hand that was not on Phil to gesture between the two of them “- was going somewhere, and I didn’t really want the first time you saw me naked to be in front of a class full of people.”

Phil’s face was beet-red, but Dan’s was, too, and hearing Dan confirm the feelings that had been revolving around Phil's brain for some time made something warm and bright fill Phil’s chest.

“That’s probably a good idea.”

Dan breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah.” 

“So, this is a thing?” Phil mimicked Dan’s movement and gestured to the two of them, and he nodded vigorously.

“Only if you want, of course.”

Phil decided to try and be brave, like Dan was being, and surged forward, pressing a quick kiss to the rosy patch on Dan’s cheek.

“I definitely want.”

Their fingers intertwined and Phil tugged Dan towards the doors leading outside.

“Where are we going? Don’t you have French class?”

Phil shrugged, unbothered. “Yeah, but I also owe you a coffee.”

**Author's Note:**

> you can find this fic on [tumblr](https://tobieallison.tumblr.com/post/185885910556/you-be-the-art-ill-be-the-brush) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/ta_hens/status/1144245396559949824)


End file.
